Comparative analysis of single-crater parameters in ultrasonic-assisted and unassisted micro-EDM of Ti6Al4V using discharge plasma imaging

Ultrasonic-assisted micro-electro-discharge machining(EDM)has the potential to enhance processing responses such as material removal rate(MRR)and surface finish.To understand the reasons for this enhancement,the physical mechanisms responsible for the individual discharges and the craters that they form need to be explored.This work examines features of craters formed by single discharges at various parameter values in both conventional and ultrasonic-assistedEDM of Ti6Al4V.High-speed imaging of the plasma channel is performed,and data on the individual discharges are captured in real-time.A 2D axisymmetric model using finite element software is established to model crater formation.On the basis of simulation and experimental results,a comparative study is then carried out to examine the effects of ultrasonic vibrational assistance on crater geometry.For every set ofEDM parameters,the crater diameter and depth from a single discharge are found to be higher in ultrasonic-assistedEDM than in conventionalEDM.The improved crater geometry and the reduced bulge formation at the crater edges are attributed to the increased melt pool velocity and temperature predicted by the model.

Subpicosecond laser ablation behavior of a magnesium target and crater evolution:Molecular dynamics study and experimental validation

The micro-ablation processes and morphological evolution of ablative craters on single-crystal magnesium under subpicosecond laser irradiation are investigated using molecular dynamics(MD) simulations and experiments.The simulation results exhibit that the main failure mode of single-crystal Mg film irradiated by a low fluence and long pulse width laser is the ejection of surface atoms,which has laser-induced high stress.However,under high fluence and short pulse width laser irradiation,the main damage mechanism is nucleation fracture caused by stress wave reflection and superposition at the bottom of the film.In addition,Mg[0001] has higher pressure sensitivity and is more prone to ablation than Mg[0001].The evolution equation of crater depth is established using multi-pulse laser ablation simulation and verified by experiments.The results show that,under multiple pulsed laser irradiation,not only does the crater depth increase linearly with the pulse number,but also the quadratic term and constant term of the fitted crater profile curve increase linearly.

Phenomenology of plume-surface interactions and preliminary results from the Tianwen-1 landing crater on Mars

The plume-surface interaction(PSI)is a common phenomenon that describes the environment surrounding the landers resulting from the impingement of hot rocket exhaust on the regolith of planetary bodies.The PSI will cause obscuration,erosion of the planetary surface,and high-speed spreading of dust or high-energy ejecta streams,which will induce risks to a safe landing and cause damage to payloads on the landers or to nearby assets.Safe landings and the subsequent scientific goals of deep-space exploration in China call for a comprehensive understanding of the PSI process,including the plume flow mechanics,erosion mechanism,and ejecta dynamics.In addition,the landing crater caused by the plume provides a unique and insightful perspective on the understanding of PSI.In particular,the PSI can be used directly to constrain the composition,structure,and mechanical properties of the surface and subsurface soil.In this study,we conducted a systematic review of the phenomenology and terrestrial tests of PSI:we analyzed the critical factors in the PSI process and compared the differences in PSI phenomena between lunar and Martian conditions;we also reviewed the main erosion mechanisms and the evolution and development of terrestrial tests on PSI.We discuss the problems with PSI,challenges of terrestrial tests,and prospects of PSI,and we show the preliminary results obtained from the landing crater caused by the PSI of Tianwen-1.From analysis of the camera images and digital elevation model reconstructions,we concluded that the landing of Tianwen-1 caused the deepest crater(depth>40 cm)on a planetary surface reported to date and revealed stratigraphic layers in the subsurface of Martian soil.We further constrained the lower bounds of the mechanical properties of Martian soil by a slope stability analysis of the Tianwen-1 landing crater.The PSI may offer promising opportunities to obtain greater insights into planetary science,including the subsurface structure,mineral composition,and properties of soil.

The subsurface structure and stratigraphy of the Chang’E-4 landing site:orbital evidence from small craters on the Von Kármán crater floor

Chang’E-4(CE-4)successfully landed on the floor of the Von Kármán crater within the South Pole-Aitken basin(SPA).One of its scientific objectives is to determine the subsurface structure and the thickness of lunar regolith at the landing site and along the traverse route of the Yutu-2 rover.Using orbital data,we employed small craters(diameters<1 km)on the floor of the Von Kármán crater as probes to investigate the subsurface structure and stratigraphy of the CE-4 landing site.In this study,40 dark-haloed craters that penetrate through the surface Finsen ejecta and excavate underlying mare deposits were identified,and 77 bright ray craters that expose only the underlying fresh materials but do not penetrate through the surface Finsen ejecta were found.The excavation depths of these craters and their distances from the Finsen crater center were calculated,and the thickness distribution of Finsen ejecta on the Von Kármán floor was systematically investigated.The boundary between Finsen ejecta and underlying mare basalt at the CE-4 landing site is constrained to a depth of 18 m.We have proposed the stratigraphy for the CE-4 site and interpreted the origins of different layers and the geological history of the Von Kármán crater.These results provide valuable geological background for interpreting data from the Lunar Penetrating Radar(LPR)and Visible and Near-infrared Imaging Spectrometer(VNIS)on the Yutu-2 rover.The CE-4 landing site could provide a reference point for crater ejecta distribution and mixing with local materials,to test and improve ejecta thickness models according to the in situ measurements of the CE-4 LPR.

Peridynamic Modeling and Simulation of Ice Craters By Impact

In the present work,a state-based peridynamics with adaptive particle refinement is proposed to simulate water ice crater formation due to impact loads.A modified Drucker-Prager constitutive model was adopted to model ice and was implemented in the state-based peridynamic equations to analyze the elastic-plastic deformation of ice.In simulations,we use the fracture toughness failure criterion in peridynamics to simulate the quasi-brittle failure of ice.An adaptive particle refinement method in peridynamics was proposed to improve computational efficiency.The results obtained using the peridynamic model were compared with the experiments in previous literatures.It was found that the peridynamic simulation results and the experiments matched well except for some minor differences discussed,and the state-based peridynamic model has shown the specific predictive capacity to capture the detailed crater features of the ice.

Saliency detection and edge feature matching approach for crater extraction

Craters are salient terrain features on planetary surfaces, and provide useful information about the relative dating of geological unit of planets. In addition, they are ideal landmarks for spacecraft navigation. Due to low contrast and uneven illumination, automatic extraction of craters remains a challenging task. This paper presents a saliency detection method for crater edges and a feature matching algorithm based on edges informa- tion. The craters are extracted through saliency edges detection, edge extraction and selection, feature matching of the same crater edges and robust ellipse fitting. In the edges matching algorithm, a crater feature model is proposed by analyzing the relationship between highlight region edges and shadow region ones. Then, crater edges are paired through the effective matching algorithm. Experiments of real planetary images show that the proposed approach is robust to different lights and topographies, and the detection rate is larger than 90%.

Shadow–highlight feature matching automatic small crater recognition using high-resolution digital orthophoto map from Chang’E Missions

This paper introduces a new method of small lunar craters’ automatic identification, using digital orthophoto map(DOM) data. The core of the approach is the fact that the lunar exploration DOM data reveal contrasting highlight and shadow characteristics of small craters under sunlight irradiation. This research effort combines image processing and mathematical modeling. Overall it proposes a new planetary data processing approach, to segment and extract the highlight and shadow regions of small craters,using the image gray frequency(IGF) statistical method.IGF can also be applied to identify the coupling relationships between small craters’ shape and their relative features. This paper presents the highlight and shadow pair matching(HSPM) model which manages to perform highprecision automatic recognition of small lunar craters.Testing was performed using the DOM data of Chang’E-2(CE-2). The results have shown that the proposed method has a high level of successful detection rate. The proposed methodology that uses DOM data can complement the drawbacks of the digital elevation model(DEM) that has a relatively high false detection rate. A hybrid fusion model(FUM) that combines both DOM and DEM data, was carried out to simultaneously identify small, medium, and large-sized craters. It has been proven that the FUM generally shows stronger recognition ability compared to previous approaches and it can be adapted for high precision identification of craters on the whole lunar surface.The results meet the requirements for a reliable and accurate exploration of the Moon and the planets.

A rocky hill on the continuous ejecta of Ziwei crater revealed by the Chang’e-3 mission

The Chinese Chang’e-3 mission landed close to the eastern rim of the ~450 m diameter Ziwei crater. Regional stratigraphy of the landing site and impact excavation model suggest that the bulk continuous ejecta deposits of the Ziwei crater are composed by Erathothenian-aged mare basalts. Along the traverse of the Yutu rover, the western segment features a gentle topographic uplift(~0.5 m high over ~4 m), which is spatially connected with the structurally-uplifted crater rim. Assuming that this broad topographic uplift has physical properties discontinuous with materials below, we use data returned by the high-frequency lunar penetrating radar onboard the Yutu rover to estimate the possible range of relative permittivity for this topographic uplift. Only when the relative permittivity is ~9 is the observed radar reflection consistent with the observed topography, suggesting that the topographic uplift is composed of basaltic blocks that were excavated by the Ziwei crater. This result is consistent both with the impact excavation model that predicts deeper basaltic materials being deposited closer to the crater rim, and with observation of numerous half-buried boulders on the surface of this hill. We note that this study is the first to use topography and radargram data to estimate the relative permittivity of lunar surface uplifts, an approach that has had many successful applications on Mars. Similar approaches can apply other ground penetrating radar data for the Moon, such as will be available from the ongoing Chang’e-4 mission.

Mineralogy and geochemistry of the Ngaoundaba Crater Lake sediments,northern Cameroon:implications for provenance and trace metals status

This study was conducted on the Ngaoundaba Crater Lake sediments to infer provenance,weathering conditions,organic matter accumulation,and trace metal concentrations.Ngaoundaba Lake sediments were collected using a manual core sampler at 5 to 8 m water depth.Two sediment cores from the littoral and center of the lake were analyzed for grain size distribution,water content(WC),organic matter content,mineralogy,and major and trace element concentrations.The Ngaoundaba sediments were classified as silt and sandy silt.Sediments show high content in organic matter,which is more to the littoral than to the center of the lake,varying from 14.6%to 24%and21.2%to 40.8%,respectively.The grain surface features identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM)show both chemical and mechanical microtextures with subrounded to angular shape suggesting both proximal and distal sources.The lake sediments are composed of quartz,kaolinite,and hematite,with low amounts of feldspars,rutile,calcite,illite,and ilmenite.Weathering indices such as the chemical index of alteration(CIA),chemical index of weathering(CIW),and index of compositional variability(ICV)indicate moderate to intense chemical weathering in the source area and immature to mature sediments.The geochemical composition indicates that the sediments were derived from felsic to intermediate igneous rocks,such as granitoids,and mafic alkali lavas like basanites.The environmental risk assessment of trace metals obtained by enrichment factor(EF)and geo-accumulation index(I-geo)shows low contamination of the lake sediments.

Spratlies Archipelago as the Australasian Tektite Impact Crater, Details of Formation &Richard Muller’s Dust Cloud Explanation for the Mid-Pleistocene Ice Age Cycle Transition

Several significant events of a geological nature occurred approximately 800 ka before the present: (1) Australasian tektite fall (AA), (2) Brunhes-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal (BMR), (3) mid-Pleistocene changes in ice age cycles. Add to these the undated fault system (4) in the South-West (SW) of the South China Sea (SCS). Here we offer a unified cause for all four of these in (5), an impact in the SCS of a large, massive cosmic object, likely a comet, obliquely coming from the SW at an extremely shallow angle, striking the Sunda shelf yet unexploded with the shock of its compressed air bow wave, and causing the continual shelf and slope to collapse, resulting in the fault system (4), then traveling almost tangentially to the surface, exploding at impact with the sea surface, ejecting the tektites (1), creating the formation underlying the later atolls of Spratlies Archipelago (6), Nansha Islands in Chinese, & causing the BMR (2). An explanation of event (3) was Richard Muller’s hypothesis of planet Earth passing through an interplanetary dust cloud periodically due to ecliptic precession. Here we hypothesize this cloud actually is a belt of Australasian tektites ejected into space at super-orbital velocities that Earth encounters about every 100 ka.

GEOCHEMICAL FEATURES OF AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT IN CRATER AND BARRIER LAKES IN NORTHEAST OF CHINA

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Correlation of the largest craters,stratigraphic impact signatures,and extinction events over the past 250 Myr

The six largest known impact craters of the last 250 Myr(≥70 km in diameter),which are capable of causing significant environmental damage,coincide with four times of recognized extinction events at 36(with 2 craters),66,and 145 Myr ago,and possibly with two provisional extinction events at 168 and215 Myr ago.These impact cratering events are accompanied by layers in the geologic record interpreted as impact ejecta.Chance occurrences of impacts and extinctions can be rejected at confidence levels of99.96%(for 4 impact/extinctions)to 99.99%(for 6 impact/extinctions).These results argue that several extinction events over the last 250 Myr may be related to the effects of large-body impacts.

Structure Design of Shaped Charge for Requirements of Concrete Crater Diameter

When shaped charge penetrats into concrete,crater diameter must meet certain requirements.By using theories of shaped jet formation and crater diameter growth during jet penetrating concrete,we revealed the thresholds of the velocity and diameter of jet head,and therefore obtained the related structure parameters of top liner,so that shaped charge structure was developed.We built a?60mm copper liner and a?142mm Ti-alloy liner which followed the rules of 0.6cal and 0.7cal in-crater diameter.respectively.X-ray experiment and penetration test results showed that the parameters of jet head were consistent with the results of theoretical analysis.The in-crater diameter of?60mm shaped charge reached 36 mm,and the?142mm one reached 100 mm.They both met the design requirements.

Groove formation on Phobos from reimpacting orbital ejecta of the Stickney crater

Numerous linear grooves have long been recognized as covering the surface of Phobos, but the mechanisms of their formation are still unclear. One possible mechanism is related to the largest crater on Phobos, the Stickney crater, whose impact ejecta may slide,roll, bounce, and engrave groove-like features on Phobos. When the launch velocity is higher than the escape velocity, the impact ejecta can escape Phobos. A portion of these high-velocity ejecta are dragged by the gravitational force of Mars, fall back, and reimpact Phobos.In this research, we numerically test the hypothesis that the orbital ejecta of the Stickney crater that reimpact Phobos could be responsible for a particular subset of the observed grooves on Phobos. We adopt impact hydrocode i SALE-2 D(impact-Simplified Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian, two-dimensional) to simulate the formation of the Stickney crater and track its impact ejecta, with a focus on orbital ejecta with launch velocities greater than the escape velocity of Phobos. The launch velocity distribution of the ejecta particles is then used to calculate their trajectories in space and determine their fates. For orbital ejecta reimpacting Phobos, we then apply the sliding boulder model to calculate the ejecta paths, which are compared with the observed groove distribution and length to search for causal relationships. Our ejecta trajectory calculations suggest that only ~1% of the orbital ejecta from the Stickney crater can reimpact Phobos. Applying the sliding boulder model, we predict ejecta sliding paths of 9-20 km in a westward direction to the east of the zone of avoidance, closely matching the observed grooves in that region. The best-fit model assumes an ejecta radius of ~150 m and a speed restitution coefficient of 0.3, consistent with the expected ejecta and regolith properties. Our calculations thus suggest the groove class located to the east of the zone of avoidance may have been caused by reimpact orbital ejecta from the Stickney crater.

Weathering Processes on Martian Craters: Implications on Recurring Slope Lineae and the Location of Liquid Water

Recent attention has been put into recurring slope lineae (RSL), after the discovery that water is present in them. It is assumed that RSL are due to flowing water. However, even though that might be the case, the general characteristics of RSL as well as their seasonal and spatial distribution in Mars, and their occurrence within craters, suggest that RSL correspond to the weathering of frozen aquifers, which coincides with slope stability processes occurring in impact craters and scree slopes from Earth. In this study, we associated RSL with similar weathering processes occurring on impact craters and hydrogeological processes occurring on Earth (including ice, water, and wind erosion and natural aquifer recharge processes). We were able to create a conceptual model on how RSL develop, why are they found mostly in mid latitudes around craters, why are they present in more frequency in one side of crates in high latitudes, and why are there more RSL in the Martian southern hemisphere. Considering the whole hydrogeological processes occurring in craters that experience RSL, we were able to predict where large quantities of liquid water are most likely to be present in the red planet.

Antimicrobial Properties of Actinomycetes Isolated from Menengai Crater in Kenya

A study was carried out to isolate and screen actinomycetes for antimicrobials from Menengai Crater in Kenya. The actinomycetes were isolated using starch casein agar, Luria Bertani agar and starch nitrate agar. Primary screening for antagonism was carried out using perpendicular method while secondary screening was done using agar disk technique. Extraction of the antimicrobials was carried out using ethyl acetate. Sensitivity testing of the crude extracts against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Xanthomonas campestris, Erwinia carotovora, Candida albicans, Alternaria alternate and Fusarium oxysporum was carried out using agar well technique. Biochemical tests and carbon source requirements were used in characterization of the selected antimicrobial producers. M1 was the best agar medium for isolation of actinomycetes. The number of actinomycetes from regions A, B, C, and D in the crater varied significantly (F = 27.50 P = 0.000). Out of the 156 actinomycetes isolates, 20 isolates were positive for both primary and secondary screening for antimicrobials. There was no significant difference in the zones of inhibition in primary screening of the actinomycetes for antagonistic properties against the test pathogens (F = 1.6957 P = 0.0838). The zones of inhibition after secondary screening varied significantly (F = 2.4473 P = 0.0089). Likewise, there was a significant difference (F = 6.6046 P = 0.001338) in the zones of inhibition after exposing the pathogens to ethyl extracts of the selected antagonistic actinomycetes. There is need to purify and characterize the antimicrobials obtained from the present study.

Regarding an Oceanic Crust/Upper Mantle Geochemical Signature at the KT Boundary:If not from Chicxulub Crater,then Where Did it Come from?

Evidence for a mantle and/or basaltic component in KT boundary distal ejecta is apparently inconsistent with ejection from Chicxulub Crater since it is located on;5km thick continental crust（De Paolo et al.,1983;Montanari et al.,1983;Hildebrand and Boynton,1988,1990）.This evidence,along with ejected terrestrial chromites（Olds et al.,2016）suggest the impact sampled terrestrial mafic and/or ultramafic target rocks which are not known to exist in the Chicxulub target area.Possible resolutions to the paradox are:1)the existence of an unmapped/unknown suture in Yucatan Platform basement,2)an additional small unmapped/unknown impact site on oceanic lithosphere,or 3)an additional large impact on oceanic lithosphere or continental margin transitional to oceanic lithosphere.The third hypothesis is elaborated here since:1)Ophiolites nearest to Chicxulub crater are found in Cuba and apparently were obducted in latest Cretaceous/earliest Danian times（García-Casco,2008）,inconsistent with the documented Eocene collision of Cuba with the Bahamas platform;and 2)Cuba hosts the world’s thickest known KT boundary deposits（Iturralde-Vinent,1992;Kiyokawa et al.,2002;Tada et al.,2003）.These and geometric considerations suggest oceanic crust and upper mantle rock,exposed as ophiolite in the Greater Antilles island chain,marks the rim of a roughly 700 km diameter impact basin deformed and dismembered from an originally circular form by at least 50 million years of left-lateral shear displacement along the North American-Caribbeantransform plate boundary.

Isli and Tislit: The First Dual Impact Crater Discovered in Morocco

Isli and Tislit, the Moroccan “Romeo and Juliette” according to a popular legend gave their name to a twin lakes in Imilchil. There we show evidences that these two lakes are impact craters. The proof as follow: 1) the fragments of iron meteorites found on both sides of Isli and Tislit lakes belong to the same parent meteorite and siderite type;2) the sedimentary formations which are almost tabular in the area of the lakes become tilted with a centripetal sloping all around and towards Isli lake;3) the circular shape of the Tislit lake is similar to that of the Isli lake;4) the impact breccias found on the south of the Isli lake contain shocked quartz crystals;5) the radial fractures of high pressure affect some sedimentary beds. All these observations give evidence of the presence of an impact crater due to the fall of meteorites.

Meteorite impact craters as hotspots for mineral resources and energy fuels:A global review

The ever-increasing recovery rate of natural resources from terrestrial impact craters over the last fewdecades across the globe offers new avenues for further exploration of mineral and hydrocarbon resources in such settings.As of today,60 of the 208 terrestrial craters have been identified to host diverseresources such as hydrocarbons,metals and construction materials.The potential of craters as plausibleresource contributors to the energy sector is therefore,worthy of consideration,as 42(70%)of the 60craters host energy resources such as oil,gas,coal,uranium,mercury,critical and major minerals as wellas hydropower resources.Among others,19 craters are of well-developed hydrocarbon reserves.Mineraldeposits associated with craters are also classified similar to other mineral resources such as progenetic,syngenetic and epigenetic sources.Of these,the progenetic and syngenetic mineralization are confinedto the early and late excavation stage of impact crater evolution,respectively,whereas epigenetic deposits are formed during and after the modification stage of crater formation.Thus,progenetic andsyngenetic mineral deposits(like Fe,Ni,Pb,Zn and Cu)associated with craters are formed as a directresult of the impact event,whereas epigenetic deposits(e.g.hydrocarbon)are hosted by the impactstructure and result from post-impact processes.In the progenetic and syngenetic deposits,the shockwave induced fracturing and melting aid the formation of deposits,whereas in the epigenetic deposits,the highly fractured lithostratigraphic units of higher porosity and permeability,like the centralelevated area(CEA)or the rim,act as traps.In this review,we provide a holistic view of the mineral andenergy resources associated with impact craters,and use some of the remote sensing techniques toidentify the mineral deposits as supplemented by a schematic model of the types of deposits formedduring cratering process.

CRATERING METEORITE OF BAISHA CRATER,HAINAN ISLAND,CHINA

Studies on the aerolite fragments from Baisha crater, Hainan Island prove that they belong to calcium-rich achondrite which are relicts of cratering meteorite of the Baisha crater.These flat-ball shaped aerolite fragments, size being 21cm×18.5cm×8.7cm, were found in a creek within the Baisha crater. This hard aerolite weigh 3.75 kg with a density of 3.46g/cm3. It is mantled by a 0.1-0.5cm thick ,brown shell and its fresh section is dark-grey. The aerolite is characterized by porphyritic texture and no spherulitic texture has been found. Microscopic examination, X-ray diffraction analysis and electronic probe